GUEST COLUMN: A tribute to Gov. DeSantis

Friday

Apr 24, 2020 at 8:01 AM

Jerry Robertson and Sandra Atkinson say Gov. Ron DeSantis has handled the pandemic situation exactly the way he should have.

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Unlike some other governors, the chief executive of the state of Florida has taken the correct attitude of cooperation with President Trump in the coronavirus crisis.

One of the greatest tragedies of modern times is the loss of respect millions of citizens now have for the office of president of the United States (POTUS). You may not like the man, but all of us should respect the office.

Our Florida governor has shown the attitude we all should have for the POTUS. An attitude that attracted the popular Fox News TV show: Life, Liberty, and Levin wherein Mr. Levin interviewed Gov DeSantis for half of the one hour show on April 12.

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So, what are the specific “things” our Gov. has done? Consider the following specific examples:

He has correctly directed local authorities, e.g, the county management, to do the local tasks. He has not used his eventual authority thereby becoming bureaucratic and overriding local authority.He has used and/or recommended local law enforcement to handle problems that they are most capable of solving. One outstanding example involves enforcement of local beach access regulations.He provided direct assistance on moving malaria type drugs to the proper place for analysis that may allow these drugs to be used to fight the coronavirus.He has become directly involved in affairs to help the elderly, and very large, population in Florida. He specifically is helping with the Alzheimer’s advisory in Florida.He has played a leading role in the outstanding achievement that the State of Florida is in second place in the entire country for testing people to detect the coronavirus. Over 100,000 people have been tested, second only to New York.He has properly and wholeheartedly publicly praised those brave people who are dealing, on a daily basis, with the deadly virus: the medical staffs of hospitals, clinics, and special needs facilities.He has worked with the US Army Core of Engineers on special construction projects that resulted in emergency facilities to handle virus victims.

This is a governor who has proven his outstanding capability to function as a Chief Executive Officer. The role of a CEO embodies a person who knows how to get and stay expertly organized; how to prioritize, how to define the real source of major problems, how to delegate responsibility properly, and MOST IMPORTANTLY: how to motivate his staff to get their work done correctly and on time according to schedule.

The smart CEO understands the old proven statement: “busy people are happy people.” Our current governor has shown he has the energy and know how to become highly regarded as an excellent governor of a very large, complicated, beautiful, and highly desirable place to live.

This opinion piece was co-authored by Jerry Robertson and Sandra Atkinson.